I'm Alive
by BluBooThalassophile
Summary: She never wanted to die, never really planned on it, there were things to do while she was alive. But Sakura chose her death, greeted it like an old friend and was ready to go. However, he's not ready to say good bye to her just yet. Now Sasuke races the clock to save her.
1. Chapter 1

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 1**

At sixteen Sakura was still working to earn her Seal; not that anyone knew of her intent to obtain it, not even Tsunade. But that was the exciting part about trying to earn it. She was doing this in secret to prove her worth as a member of Team 7; one of the most awesome teams in the village, no she wasn't bragging.

But there was Kakashi of the Sharingan as captain of her Team, there was the only wood style user Captain Yamato on the Team as well. Then there was one of Root's elite assassins on her Team, Sai. There was also the hyperactive, blonde knucklehead who was the jinchūriki of the Nine Tails, Naruto. And finally, the most amazing member of their Team, the last Uchiha; Uchiha Sasuke.

To say her Team was power stacked was the understatement of the century. But the Third had known what he was doing when he had created Team 7; or so, Sakura hoped.

The point was, on a Team of power hitters she didn't feel like she quite belonged here. There was nothing spectacular in her skill set besides chakra control and healing which was why she had hopes to obtain a Strength of a Hundred Seal on her brow like her Master to prove she was worthy of being here on Team 7. She had been hearing the same 'you-don't-belong-there' speech from jealous girls, other shinobi, and even her own Master who had wanted to pull her from Team 7 and put her with Team 8. But Kakashi had held firm for some reason on her staying on Team 7 and one never questioned Kakashi.

Sakura didn't see what the big deal was, it wasn't like she was an interracial part of Team 7 or anything. She was just sort of there to patch them up after they got a few minor scrapes or bruises.

No matter, she shrugged off the feeling she did not belong on that Team any more than a deer in a pack of wolves.

Which was why today she was pulling up her hair as she walked to the Hokage's tower for a mission assignment with Sasuke, which wasn't a thrilling thought for her. The Uchiha had never liked her, even though she loved him but it didn't matter. Everyone in the village had thought she had out grown that stupid childish crush; it was her darkest secret that she hadn't, but rather she had fallen harder for him as time had passed. Which wasn't fair in her mind but the fates had probably cursed her or something at some point. She wouldn't put it past the fates to hate her, not that she was entirely certain as to why they'd hate her, but she had a feeling that they'd hate her all the same.

She walked into the Hokage's office then and saw her brooding teammate already there in the corner glaring at Tsunade as if she were the bane of his existence.

"My lady," Sakura greeted.

"Good, Sakura, you're here. I believe you will be particular skills will be useful in facing an old foe," Tsunade announced as she handed her the file. Sakura opened the slim file then and her eyes widened at the target.

"Tsunade!" she gasped.

"That's right, this is an S-Classed mission, Naruto is being sent off with Yamato, Kakashi and Sai so as to not interfere with yours' and Sasuke mission. We need him dead, Sakura," Tsunade said firmly. Sakura looked into her master's tawny eyes and nodded then.

"Yes my lady, I will see to it he is eliminated, but why is Sasuke coming?" she asked.

"The Uchiha is volunteered to be your back up for this mission, originally Kakashi was to be your back up, but…" her master trailed off and glared dangerously at Sasuke. Sakura looked right over her shoulder at glaring Uchiha then and sighed.

"My lady, I do not need back up, I will eliminate the target," Sakura assured Tsunade as she read over the information.

"I know you will not fail, this is personal after all. However, you are a medic and medics never go on solo missions because of their value to their village and the shinobi forces they serve. But, there are few who have ever gotten close enough to kill this target and only one has ever lived to tell the tale. So what do you say Sakura? Ready to settle this old grudge match?" Tsunade asked her.

An old, poorly healed scar on her abdomen pulsed with old phantom pains from the first encounter she had ever had with him and lived to tell about. But the cost of living had been the loss of a Suna elder who had been the first to believe in her. It was personal, it was very personal for her as she handed the file back to her mentor.

"I am more than ready to settle this, once and for all," she smiled maliciously as she turned to the door and walked out. "But Sasuke; you are to stay out of it," she said coldly to her teammate. This wasn't personal between him and her, but it was very personal between her target and her and she'd be damned if she let the Uchiha interfere.

"Sakura, the Uchiha is going to aid you," Tsunade barked.

"And I'm telling you right now, this isn't personal Sasuke, but he'll get in my way, and I'll be damned if I let this target escape my grasp again. This is personal between me and Sasori, and I do not need the Uchiha to interfere." Sakura stated to her master as she walked out of the office and let the door click behind her.

She was going to kill that puppet, and when she shattered his body into a million tiny pieces she was going to walk away humming in delight at having avenged Lady Chiyo. She was going to show the entire world she was just as good as her teammates on Team 7, and she was going to settle the score one and for all between her and Sasori.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 2**

All Sasuke knew about the pinkette on his team was she was quieter, had a more fiery temper than before he had left, and she was closest to Sai and Kakashi, but she was still considered Naruto's best friend. Other than what he observed about her though, she was a complete and total mystery to him, and he found her to be completely fascinating. She was so different from when they had been genin. However, he wasn't a complete fool where Sakura was concerned and paid attention to what she was up too and the missions she'd disappear with Kakashi on.

At first he had thought Sakura and Kakashi had some sort of secret relationship; he wouldn't put it past their perverted teacher to have a relationship with Sakura, or for her to naïvely fall for the older man. After all, she had loved him; which had been a stupid thing to do because he had left to kill Itachi and he had come back because after having killed his brother he had nothing better to do. However, it appeared she wasn't in a relationship with Kakashi and he knew because Naruto had screamed at Kakashi about the idea.

Sakura had slugged both Kakashi and Naruto then spun on him, Sai, and Yamato and demanded to know if they had any other stupid ideas about her nonexistent love life. They had shook their heads and she had stalked off seething; which had pretty much destroyed any thoughts about her being in a relationship with Kakashi.

But then he had overheard Kakashi talking to Sai about Sai trading places with him as Sakura's back up for the assassination mission, and Sasuke had been curious. It was only when he had asked Kakashi who Sakura (Sakura who was innocent, a little naïve, and kind; despite her temper), who Sakura was going to be killing and Kakashi had answered 'Sasori'. Sasuke had then said he'd be Sakura's back up, not because he didn't believe in her, but rather because now she was so far out of her league that it wasn't even funny and he wasn't going to have her dying on him just because the ink freak had been her back up.

The mere idea of Sakura dying had always terrified him; even as a genin.

So he had volunteered to go in Kakashi's place, and had even glared at Sai when he had argued that he was fine backup for Ugly. Sasuke didn't want to point out that Sai always called Sakura 'Ugly' for some reason and she hated that as he also didn't want the idiot to babble something about team bounds and team work. Sasuke was going, and that was final, and if anyone had a problem with that then they could spar with him and prove they would be better back up for the most annoying pinkette ever born into existence. He was not having her annoying-self die on him because she had taken on an Akatsuki member and she wasn't even ready for that.

However, he had a feeling that he was missing something here because she had warned him to stay out of her way, he didn't know entirely what was going on with her and Sasori but he had a bad feeling about it as he looked to Tsunade who sighed.

"Just make certain she doesn't die on this one, she's been wanting to kill Sasori for a few years now," the Hokage informed him.

"Aa," he nodded. He guessed he wasn't going to be receiving the why of this story anytime soon. Which was why he'd just pay attention to her and what was going on with her and he wouldn't interfere with her battle unless she was about to die.

If she was about to be killed or something he'd be killing Sasori, regardless of what she wanted. He was not losing someone else of importance in his life because she had been foolhardy and foolish and bit off far more than she was capable of chewing. Just because she was annoying didn't mean he wanted her dead.

Sakura would have to deal with him being her back up for this, and he knew she wasn't going to like it.

"Oh, and Sasuke, let nothing happen to her," Tsunade called out as he grabbed the handle of the door. He turned to look at the deceptively old woman then.

"Aa," he nodded.

He was not going to let anything happen to her, he would sooner die than let anything happen to the annoying pinkette.

He saw her walking through the village and she looked furious. He jogged up to her then and tapped her shoulder.

"No matter what you stay out of my way," Sakura said and he lifted a brow at her as she glared at him.

"Depends," he said coldly.

"No, it doesn't, this is personal, and I didn't interfere with your personal fight with Itachi; you will not interfere with my fight with Sasori," she snapped.

"Sakura, this is the Akatsuki," Sasuke pointed out flatly as they walked.

"I know damn well who this is, but stay out of my way," Sakura replied which had him frowning. He wasn't going to point out that there was no way she would be able to hold her own with a member of the Akatsuki when he had barely been able to hold his own with his brother. And his brother had been a dying man already.

"I will interfere if necessary," he said coolly.

"Uchiha Sasuke, if you like your body in one functioning piece you will not interfere with this fight, I will eliminate Sasori on my own, I am not some weak genin who needs your protection," she spat out.

"I never said you were weak, but you are out of you league, Haruno," he said firmly.

"No I'm not," she argued. He said nothing to this as they parted ways to collect their supplies and meet at the gate. He knew there would be no winning this argument, and he wasn't going to continue arguing with her.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 3**

"Ready to go," Sakura announced when she arrived at the village gates with her small pack, the poisoned kunai she'd need, and every medical herb she thought she'd need just in case she got stabbed or something. She was ready for anything; she was certain of it. And she was positive that she was going to kill Sasori this time. He would not live, even if he killed her she was taking him with her; she had packed paper bombs just for that purpose. Sasori was not going to live and when she was finished with him he was going to be splinters.

"Hn," the Uchiha grunted as they started off together.

They didn't really talk much, not that they ever had; even before, but now they were in a comfortable silence as they ran down the road and into the forest to head towards the last coordinates known for Sasori's location.

She leapt up into the trees and tried to ignore the charcoal eyes on her as they darted through the trees with ease. She still loved him, and it hurt, it sucked, it pained her to no end that he'd never love her back, but she knew it was a pipe dream and she was slowly letting it go. It was better to let those painful, stupid, childish dreams go rather than cling to them and be hurt because they were shattered by him when he married a girl like Ino, or Hinata, or Karin, or someone. There was simply no way he'd be taking her as his wife and she was letting it go, best to do it on her terms rather than be shattered by him. Again.

"Why is this personal?" he asked her when they stopped at a ridge and his eyes whirled to life as he scanned for threats. Sakura was always mesmerized by his Sharingan, it was so deathly beautiful, it was hypnotic without the genjutsu.

"Because, he made it personal," she stated flatly. He had made it personal the day he had taunted her with knowing where Sasuke was, he had made it personal when he had poisoned her in the gut then leaned in to whisper that Sasuke had a redheaded lover before twisting the blade and yanking it out. she had screamed though when he had killed his own grandmother and walked off with a smirk. He had made it personal, she was just going to finish it and beat him to death with his arm if need be. If she had to break a thousand puppets, if she had to shatter every bone in her body, if she had to drink a lake of his poison, then so be it; but she wasn't dying until Sasori was burning in hell for what he had done to her and her friends.

"That is not an answer," Sasuke chided which had her smiling sweetly.

"I know, but I'm not going to give you an answer," she said and followed his lead.

He rolled his eyes as they ran along the cliff's edge of a mountain. She leapt upwards to see where they were and then just followed him, trusting the Uchiha to get them there in one piece. She didn't want to trust him, but she was going to all the same because she was trying to act like there was nothing wrong between them.

* * *

When they were making camp he glanced over at her as she peeled off her vest, he looked back to his pack then knowing she'd pummel him if he saw her in just her tank top. She had blasted Naruto for sending Sai on her once, he had actually pitied the Root-nin until Sakura came storming into the camp after the dobe. Naruto hadn't been quick enough when she caught him, Sai had merely been confused as to what he had done wrong.

Sakura sat at the fire then and he watched her closely as he pulled his blade and started the routine care of it. She said nothing as she stared at the fire and he wondered what was going on in her head, she had such a miserable look on her face that he didn't know what to think as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"What exactly did Sasori do to you?" he asked coldly.

"He stabbed me in the gut with a rare poison of his and then killed his grandmother right before my eyes before walking off. Lady Chiyo did not use the last of our antidote on herself like I ordered, instead she gave it to me and died a few hours later, just as I got her to Suna. It was aweful," she shuddered. He frowned, not from disappointment in her, but rather at the sense she was censoring something, the thing which made this so personal.

Also, he was slightly irked to learn Haruno Sakura had been fighting the Akatsuki while he had run off to kill Itachi, that peeved him; mostly because he had made the dobe promise to protect her and clearly the dobe hadn't.

At least, he hadn't if she had been running around, unsupervised, chasing the Akatsuki of all things. Did she realize she was luck to even be alive at this moment? Probably not, Haruno Sakura was an annoyingly oblivious woman, which also irritated him to no end.

Honestly, if she was any more innocent or naïve with men she'd be attacked before she was twenty-one. The thought did not sit well with him as he finished caring for his blade.

"Why did you ask to come?" Sakura asked him suddenly.

"Because, this is the Akatsuki," he stated. This wasn't some set of bandits she could scare off with her monster strength and demon temper.

"Kakashi could've come with me, or Sai, they're jonin," she pointed out flatly and he frowned at her then.

"Sakura, I came here because you are dealing with the Akatsuki," he stated flatly. And he would not tolerate having the annoying pinkette die on him; he was not handling Naruto all on his own, the pinkette was very much needed to keep the dobe alive.

And there was also this nagging feeling which was twisting up his gut and warning him of bad things to come. It was why he had to be here, he couldn't lose another person who was important to him when he felt this sickening, gut wrenching feeling. He couldn't.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 4**

Sasuke had woken at dawn this morning and seen the sleeping pinkette. He didn't know what was driving her to take on an Akatsuki member but clearly she wasn't going to be stopped and he wasn't even going to try to stop her.

His only hope was to catch Sasori before he could kill Sakura and kill the puppet master himself.

Leaving Sakura in the clearing he went to the small nearby pond to clean himself off from the journey they had been having. He hated feeling… sticky, well, that wasn't true, but he didn't like feeling sweaty after waking from his nightmares. It made him feel helpless. Which was why he was cleaning himself off and trying not to think about the pinkette who was sleeping in the clearing and hell-bent on revenge. It wasn't healthy for her to be this way.

As an Uchiha it was one thing when he hated someone or something, but he was an Uchiha and hating things was in his blood. However, the pinkette in the clearing knew nothing of real hate and he wanted to keep it that way. If only for the sake of his memory, to preserve the image of the cute pinkette who had blushed whenever he had looked at her. To preserve the girl he had once known before he ahd broken her to pieces and ran off to kill his brother. Don't get the wrong idea and think that he didn't like this Sakura, he really enjoyed the pinkette's company now that she was older but she was still strangely innocent, and he wanted to keep her that way.

Killing Sasori would hurt her, even if she didn't know that.

Thinking this he finished washing off and followed she scent of coffee back to the clearing before arriving and seeing Sakura awake and at the fire. This wasn't odd to him as she offered him a mug and he took the warm liquid from her. the first sip tasted bitter, a strong bitter that came from drinking coffee black, but there was a sweet tang to it too. He didn't think about it as he downed the rest of the mug and gave it back to Sakura before walking back to his stuff to pack it up and leave.

Kneeling over he shook his head when he started feeling heavy. Ignoring it he tried to shake it off, he was fine, he had slept last night, and the travels were going smoothly. There was no reason for him to be stumbling. A yawn was coming and he held it back until he felt his world waver as it felt like the ground was shifting beneath his feet. Blinking he turned to Sakura, she was standing up ready. Sasuke didn't know what to say to her when it dawned on him.

She drugged him.

That was his last thought before he lurched forward.

* * *

Sakura stood up in the morning and was ready to go, she looked around for the Uchiha and heard water splashing. If she was quick about this then he'd be left behind, she thought as she pulled out the sleeping draft she had slipped into her bra to hide it from everyone and started brewing the coffee.

She didn't want Sasuke here with her, it was too distracting, and she was going to kill Sasori on her own. She was going to prove she wasn't so weak as to actually need the Uchiha here to finish what was her mission.

Sasuke emerged just as she finished brewing the sleeping draft into the coffee and she presented him a cup, keeping the untainted coffee for herself as she sat back and silently watched him as he took the mug and took a sip of it. Revealing nothing she watched him as he downed it and just waited.

Ten minutes later he was sound asleep after having tried to fight the draft, but this particular draft was brewed to knock Naruto out for two days, there was no way the Uchiha was going to be able to fight it as she set him up securely then grabbed her pack as she snatched up the information and darted off, leaving the Uchiha secure in the trees until the draft wore off of him.

He'd be pissed when he woke but she'd be gone and Sasori would be dead.

That was all that mattered to her.

Besides, this was personal to her. If anyone was going to kill that redheaded freak, it was going to be her. and she was going to make certain that it hurt. Puppet or not he was going to feel pain by the time she was finished with him because there was no way in hell she was letting him get off easy after everything he had done.

Thinking this Sakura determinedly ran in the direction Sasori was said to be. And she tried not to think about how angry the Uchiha was going to be when he woke and she was gone. She tried not to think about how she had just essentially betrayed Sasuke, and she didn't think about how it was tearing her up as she ran towards the desert now.

She was going to prove to all of them she was a capable kunoichi without the help of any of her team. And when she brought Sasori's core back in her hot little hands she was going to demand the respect she had earned over the years before the Uchiha had returned. Upon his return everyone had seemed to expect her to turn into the damsel in distress.

It wasn't fucking happening.

She was going to prove she was Haruno Sakura, disciple of the Fifth Hokage, and the best damn medic of her generation. She was also going to prove to Sasori that he didn't have anything on her as she slid to a stop at the entrance of the vast desert. She gulped, steeled herself and ran forward without fear.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 5**

Sakura ran through the sweltering heat of the desert as she felt heavy, pounding, searing heat of the sun beating down on her as her feet were burned from the sands. But it didn't stop or slow her, it didn't deter her as she endured it and kept running it. She would only have today to get a head start on Sasuke before he came after her but that was all she needed. Just one day to get to Sasori and kill him for all the hells he had put her through in their first encounter.

She never wanted Sasuke to know about what had actually happened on that encounter because it was humiliating to think of herself as so weak as to be distracted by the mere mention of his name. but he had been a missing-nin then and she had been looking everywhere for him at the time.

Now though, now he was back, and he didn't need to know about how much she actually loved him when he didn't feel the same about her.

The dunes started leveling out, and she saw the setting sun as she finally hit the hard stones of the canyon, she took the high route rather than run through that little kill box and she pulled a kunai. The first thing she sensed was the rush of air coming at her in the form of an attack. It was the pulse of magnetic fields though which had her super charging her free fist as she came in low and smashed the formed iron wall of iron sand. The wall smashed into the other side of the canyon as she skidded to stop. The turtle looking puppet was there in the middle of the canyon and she smirked.

"I see your strength has only grown," he rasped and she smiled.

"That's not all, you're going to pay for what you did to Granny Chiyo," she snarled.

"Not before you die girl. I could use a puppet of your strength," he rasped. She saw the coming attack when his puppet armor's jaw dropped. The needles came at her. Sakura gritted her teeth in a snarl as she darted forward, evading the attacks as she slid, leapt, twisted her body around and landed before him and kept rushing him. the tail came at her, but Sakura didn't slow as she leapt up to twist around and slide under the tail. Grabbing it she yanked it over her shoulder, Sasori screamed at the action as she dragged the puppet armor up with the tail and had it smashing into the ground as she drew back her fist and slammed it into the armor.

The puppet-man inside of it leapt away from her as she spun around to send a blast of chakra after him as he produced a hundred puppets between himself and her.

"What Sasori? Scared of a little girl?" she taunted and his immobile face scowled a bit as she watched his fingers move and rushed him again.

* * *

Furious did not even begin to describe how he was feeling at this moment as he ran through the black desert.

She had drugged him! Haruno fucking Sakura had drugged him!

When he got his hands on her he was strangling her to death, but only after he knew she was alright.

Sometimes he wondered who the truly dumb one of Team 7 was, her or Naruto. At moments like this though Sakura won the stupidity award, he would even give her a stand ovation for this level of stupidity. If she thought she was able to kill an Akatsuki member on her own then she was going to be gravely mistaken because they were about the hardest fucking people to kill. He had barely been able to kill Itachi, and that was his brother whom he had been training to kill. Also, Itachi hadn't even been at the top of his game when he and Itachi had gone toe to toe.

Sasuke would freely admit that it was sheer dumb luck that he had even survived that fight, and it was even dumber luck that he had managed to kill his brother. But that was neither here nor there.

The point was the Akatsuki members were all in a league of their own where danger was concerned.

He felt there was no point in denying that fact, it was why most of the jonin from the village went in squads after the Akatsuki members. And even then, most of those squads never came back.

So he wondered why that stupid pinkette had to be so fucking stubborn about this! Couldn't she see that she was going out of her depth? Out of her level? Out of her league? He didn't want her dead! That was the last fucking thing he wanted, it was why he had come on this mission in the first place. It was to ensure that the pinkette didn't die!

He couldn't live with himself if something happened to her, and despite all the damage they had done to one another when he had been a rogue ninja, he had always thought of her as one of the most important people in his life.

Dawn was peeking over the horizon when he finally reached the canyon and went the high ground. He liked avoiding obvious kill boxes, and the canyon just screamed kill box with all those sheer high sides. The first thing he saw as he ran deeper into the canyon was the grey metallic dirt, it was everywhere, then there were the holes in the canyon walls; they looked like Sakura punches.

Then he skidded to a stop when there were limbs of puppets scattered about, there were scorch marks, poison needles everywhere, the battle field was something he had never seen before with all the inanimate bodies strewn about. But his heart hitched at the sight of Sakura laying in a crater, limp and unmoving.

Sasuke ran for her, he noticed the sword in her gut as he approached her.

"Sakura!" he shouted.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 6**

She felt like she was drowning in her own body as she lay there smiling in triumph as she had labor breathing and looked at the broken part of Sasori's heart in her hands.

She had done it, Sasuke would never know, she could die relieved knowing that as her eyes grew heavy. Her head lolled to the sighed and she struggled to breathe as she stared at the light glow of pink of the coming dawn. This was a pretty sight, she thought wryly, it was the color of her hair.

The coppery tang of blood slipped on her tongue and she took another shuddering breath as she decided to watch her final sun rise. This was the way she wanted to die, she decided. She had fought, she had fought like hell and had killed her enemy. She could die with pride and honor; and that made her happy as she struggled to keep her eyes open on the sunrise.

Her heart was beating, she could feel it, and she could feel that with every beat she lost blood from Sasori's final gift to her gut.

Stupid, definately, annoying; yup, and weak, yes; she could hear Sasuke saying all of that to her and she couldn't help but agree with the voice in her head.

"Sakura!" a voice shouted.

Her dying heart skipped a beat as she used every ounce of her energy to turn her head and see him running towards her. what was this? She wondered, a hallucination from the poison, Sasori had said it'd take her four days to die this painful death, but it'd take hours with where that kunai was buried in her, robbing her of her life's blood.

"Sas," she whispered on bloody lips, she could see him as he slid over her and she smiled then.

This was a nice hallucination to have before death, she liked this kindness from the gods, it was like the sunrise the color of her ridiculous hair.

"Got him," she whispered and tried to lift her hand to show Sasuke that she had gotten the enemy, that she wasn't useless or weak, and that she was more than annoying. She had killed Sasori, and she was dying. There'd be no basking in her success of the impossible task as she smiled at the image above her and felt the world wavering a bit as the darkness clouded her vision.

Damn it!

Was her only thought as she felt her head fall to the side again and her eyes grow heavy. She had wanted to see the pink sunrise before she died.

Then there was nothing but the darkness as a heavy, wet, metallic pain dragged her down, she felt like she were drowning, screaming for help but nothing was going to save her as she sunk down into oblivion.

Then the pain was fire, it made her want to scream, to thrash, and then there was nothing again aside from the feeling of drowning in darkness.

And all she had wanted to see was the pink sunrise, one last time…

* * *

He skidded to a halt besides the pinkette who looked at him with a weak smile.

"Got him," she huffed out weakly and then her eyes rolled back in her head.

FUCK!

That was his only thought as he looked over her to where he saw blood pooling, there was tints of black in her blood and he felt himself tremble slightly as he looked her over and found the source of her bleeding.

There was a Suna kunai sticking in her lower abdomen, and if he had to guess, it could've knicked her liver or missed it entirely; he wasn't a doctor, gingerly he rolled her on her back and looked at it. It was poisoned, there was a thick purple liquid oozing down the blade and into her wound.

If he left the blade in she died of the poison.

If he pulled the blade then she'd die of exsanguination.

Unless he managed to make a quick clot job or cauterize the wound temporarily, but then there was the problem of the poison and the poison master being the one poisoned. Sasuke looked at her pale sweaty face and decided; to hell with it; as he pulled his cloak, prepared to apply pressure and burn her wound shut then run like hell back to the Leaf and pray to high Kami that Tsunade could save her.

"Not going to lie, this is going to hurt like a bitch," he informed the unconscious pinkette as he took a few steadying breaths, grabbed the dagger with a torn off piece of his cloak and yanked it out.

She arched and moaned, dark blood flowed freely from the wound as he slammed the balled up cloak over it and all but sat on her to apply the pressure as he looked at her.

"Don't die, Sakura," he ordered harshly and pulled a hand away as he formed the sighs and yanked the cloak away s he breathed fire into the wound.

A cry escaped her lips and then he knew she was unconscious for certain, she went completely still and her body was like a limp noodle. It was unconscious or dead, he thought when he finally pulled away from her and checked her throat for a pulse. A shaky breath escaped his lips as he felt a faint pulse. Her lips had a tint of blue to them which had him leaning over her and listening to her breathing.

It was shallow, weak, but it was steady as he stood up, wrapping the kunai in the bit of cloak he had ripped for it he slipped it into his pack, he grabbed the shattered toy in Sakura's hands as he slipped that into his pack as well. Then ever so gingerly he lifted the small, fragile pinkette up into his arms and cradled her.

When the hell had she gotten so small? He wondered as he started running as fast as he could towards the Leaf.

Sakura didn't rouse for him though.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 7**

Sakura started convulsing, and he had to stop as she heaved and never had he felt more helpless, however it was her delirium which had most of his concern.

"I wanted to see the sunrise," she would mutter.

"We'll see one tomorrow," he would reply and she seemed to scoff at the idea for some reason.

"The real Sasuke doesn't like me, and today was my last chance," she mumbled after about the sixth utterance about the stupid sunrise and those words had had him nearly dropping the half conscious, now re-bleeding pinkette. He stared at her glassy eyes, her deathly pale face, and her chapping lips.

"I like you," he said softly. He now feared her thinking she hated him as she was dying in his arms. He set her down on the grass and decided to try packing her wound with some plants. He didn't know if it'd work or not, he didn't want to think about the consequences if he didn't keep her alive, he had to keep her alive, he had to.

She couldn't die as he started sliding his trembling hands into her wound and trying to pack it. Sakura moaned a bit as her head lolled to the other side

"No you don't," she mumbled miserably and he felt her go lax again. He was fighting back tears of his own then as he stared at his bloody hands and he stared at her. Gingerly he rested his brow on hers' and wondered how the fuck they had gotten here as again he slipped his arms around her shoulders and under her knees as he cradled her close to him and resumed his running.

The Leaf was three days from him, he knew he could make it there tomorrow if he ran through the night and didn't slow.

The problem was:

He didn't know if Sakura was going to make it to the Leaf.

Her arm was dangling limply as he ran and he felt her other arm on his shoulders slide down his back, her head was hanging limply and he could feel her chakra faltering with every step he ran. The tears streaming down his face had him trembling but he kept running, kept going, he didn't stop or faulter, and he didn't slow. He did stop to repack her wound, and he burned it shut again later.

But she was losing so much blood.

"Stars," she rasped as he ran through the trees after hours of silence.

"Aa," he nodded.

"My mom said dead people are stars," she whispered. "I want to be a star," she breathed.

"No," he snapped as he glared at her half lidded, delirious green eyes.

"I killed Sasori," she smiled weakly then.

"Aa, you did," he nodded as he slid on some loose bark. He wrapped around her as they hit the ground. Sakura rolled lifelessly from his arms as he hissed in pain. His foot! Snarling a bit he scrambled over to the pinkette who was struggling to breath, her lips were slightly blue in the dim light of the stars and half-moon. He pulled himself over her then as he felt her pulse on her throat, his foot was stabbing him with pain.

"Tell them," she murmured weakly. "Tell them I killed him, not you."

"You'll tell them yourself," he argued as he stood, ignored the crippling pain of his foot; which he hadn't looked at yet, and gingerly lifted her again.

"They'll say… you, did it," she breathed heavily. "I'm weak… annoying, stupid," she smiled bitterly. "But… I did that," she murmured.

"You are not annoying, stupid or weak! And you did it, and you're going to tell them yourself," he said sharply at her as he ran and refused to look at his foot which felt like it was stabbing in pain as he pressed himself harder and faster.

"You… you said, I was," she whispered.

"I lied!" he snapped, but she was unconscious again. He felt his tears slipping down his face as he felt the warmth of her blood slowly oozing on to his abdomen and his foot screaming with every step he took.

There were things he had to say, things he had to do, fences to mend, and sins to atone for, and lies to clarify for the pinkette, she couldn't die.

That was his only thought as he ran harder, and pressed himself harder to get to the Leaf. He felt her heart against his chest, he felt it slowing, stuttering, and as the dawn peeked over the horizon he panicked.

"Sakura, come on, Sakura!" he snapped.

No response.

"Sakura! the sunrise is here, come on, you wanted to see it!" he was all but shouting to her as he stared at the watering pinks flooding the sky. There! He could see the gates! He nearly shouted in relief, but the pinkette felt cold in his arms.

"Sakura, come on, the sunrise," he repeated.

No sound.

"Sakura?" he questioned as he slowed his run then, she was pale as death, he looked down at the blood splashing his clearly shattered foot and he felt himself tremble.

"Sakura? say something!" he snapped at her as he staggered towards the gates.

She couldn't be dead! She couldn't be, he refused to believe she was dead! He refused.

He collapsed just outside of the gates sobbing as he clutched the cold, pale, bleeding body in his arms to his chest.

No! No! NO! His mind roared as he released his own cry of anguish as he held her tight.

"Come on, come on, we're here, come on, I got you here," he whispered, he saw the sentries running towards them. "Come on Sakura, open your eyes!" he snapped, but her pink lashes never moved.

"Oh Kami! Get the medics, get the Fifth, we got her Sasuke!" a sentry said as the pulled her from him and ran off. He staggered to his feet then, his foot screamed in protest.

"You're injured.

"No, get this to Tsunade, now, she was poisoned," he snapped as he ignored his pain and produced the dagger which had a coat of the poison dripping on it. The sentry nodded as he grabbed it ran off. Sasuke just hobbled towards the hospital, ignoring his pain as he felt the tears streaming down his face and he prayed, for the first time since his family had been taken from him he prayed as he made his way to the hospital.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

They had to literally drag him into an exam room to look at his mangled foot; it was very clearly broken and even he could see the little bones poking out of his skin and he could feel the stabbing pain of his foot.

At the word surgery though he had set the room ablaze and had doctors scattering away from him as he hobbled back outside of the surgery room Sakura had been taken to. He didn't know if she was dead, he didn't know if it was a flux of inate denial that had them taking her in there, all he knew was that she was in there and he was out here and he didn't want her dead thinking he hated her.

However the hell she could think that and believe it, he didn't know.

Oh, looking back on how he treated her he could see where one would think he hated her, but they didn't look close enough.

At sixteen he paid attention to everything she did, listened to everything she said and filed it away for later if they were to talk. Sasuke knew just about everything there was to know about her from simply watching her and filing it away. Her favorite foods, her favorite books, her favorite cloths, her favorite time of the day, her favorite kinds missions, her best friends (and he could rank them), those she called family, and her favorite people outside of her friends and family. He could tell you the days she trained with Tsunade, what they had done and what she had learnt all from listening to. He could tell you just about anything about her, and he didn't even notice his watching of her until recently.

The worst part, the absolute worst part, was he hadn't noticed his watching her until she was dying in his arms and he was racing the clock to the village.

Oh, he knew he kept an eye on her, how could he not when she was one of his few important people. He just hadn't noticed how much of an eye he had been keeping on her until now. His head snapped up to Tsunade walking out of the door then in bloody scrubs and he pushed himself to his feet.

"Lady Hokage…" he started when Tsunade held hand then.

"I had a feeling that no matter who went with her that this was going to happen, she probably drugged you and ran off," Tsunade sighed.

He just reluctantly nodded.

"Is she…?" he started but his mouth couldn't seem to form the word to ask his question. Tawny looked at him then.

"No, the wound was deep, and it would have killed her, it also damaged her liver and intestance, and her stomach, you burning and packing the wound delayed her from dying sooner. However, the blood loss alone had her coding on the table twice, she's very lucky to be living right now. I took out the heavy settlements of the poison," Tsunade admitted. "Her heart though can't handle much more for the moment so we're closing her up, setting her up on a drip of antibodies and blood to keep her alive for now and I'm going to go find an antidote."

"But…" he started.

"She's alive," Tsunade admitted, he leant on the wall then in relief as he tried not to collapse under the weight of this news. "Now, Shizune is going to see to your foot before you can do any more damage to it."

"I want to see her," he said sharply.

"After your foot is attended to, you damn fool!" Tsunade snapped at him, he glowered down at the curvy blonde and decided twenty different ways of removing her from his path before slumping in defeat. "Good choice Uchiha," Tsunade snapped.

Sasuke just surrendered as he was carted off.

As it turned out his foot was not the only broken part of him.

That fall had broken his leg in about three spots and had ripped up his calf; not ask him how this was the case when he barely remembered the fall. Shizune theorized though that his running with Sakura had done the muscle shredding with fragments of his own bone loose.

It was a four hour surgery later that he found himself waking in a hospital; not happy and with his leg elevated. Snarling a bit he struggled through the pain meds which were making his mind feel heavy and his body numb, and he struggled to get into a wheel chair before dragging an IV with him as he activated his Sharingan and tracked Sakura's chakra down.

It was so faint and weak that it was flickering dangerously close to extinguishing.

It had him panicking a little as he wheeled himself a little quicker down the hall to where she was. He came to her room and saw her hooked up to all sorts of machinery and tubes. He wheeled himself closer and relaxed a little.

She was alive.

But she was deathly pale and she didn't move when he slowly lifted his hand and touched her brow to check for warmth. There wasn't much warmth in her and he slumped back in his chair as he stared at the pale pinkette.

She wasn't supposed to be this pale, was all he could think as he stared at her and slowly lifted his hand back up to the bed as he carefully took her slight hand in his.

She didn't react and he just stared at her.

"You can't die," he informed her sharply. She didn't respond or move, and nothing in her body reacted according to the monitors. Sasuke wasn't discouraged though as he glared at her. "You can't die, there's tomorrow's sunrise, and the dobe will be pissed if you die, there's training too. And if you die I'm killing your annoying pink ass," he snarled.

No reply from her.

"You have to wake up," he decided. "You have to tell them that you killed Sasori," he murmured.

She still didn't respond and he felt his eyes growing heavy as his head drooped a bit. He never released her hand though.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 9**

No amount of persuasion could have him moving as he sat there holding her hand and sleeping in the most uncomfortable chair ever created for mankind. He hated this chair, and yet he couldn't leave it. He didn't dare to leave her, despite his desires to run off and destroy something.

Sasuke found he was terrified. Terrified that if he left he'd return only to be told she was dead or worse. No, it was for the best he stayed right where he was, and he was sticking with this decision even as he sat in the most uncomfortable chair ever made in the history of mankind watching her.

The council had tried to credit him with the death of Sasori.

However, the moment they had tried he had actually lost his temper and started yelling, spewing fire, and over all destroying the hospital around him until he slammed the door in their face and sat with Sakura.

She was right, no one seemed to think of her as capable of killing sasori, and she had nearly died doing so. Hell, she could die still.

Tsunade had managed to draw out most the poison in a crude method, Sakura was so weak and unconscious that she hadn't even screamed in what was clearly agony in his mind. However, just because most of the poison was out of her system didn't mean all of it was, and what little remained in her was keeping her out of time at the moment.

It was frightening, she could die, even with the dialysis cleaning her blood and Tsunade working furiously to find the antidote for the poison.

And it was this very thought which lead him to where he was. Sitting beside her, holding her hand, sleeping in the most uncomfortable chair ever made to man, trying desperately not to grab her frail shoulders and shake her as hard as he could until she woke. That would accomplish nothing.

But this didn't mean he didn't want to do it as he slept there. He heard the nurses come in, change her IV, check her over, try to coax him away from her so they could give Sakura a sponge bath, she was sweating a lot as her weak body battled the poison. Sasuke had instead settled in a corner with his back to them as he slept. The nurses washed Sakura over, he was immediately back beside her once they were gone though and he stared at her face.

"I will kiss you if you don't wake up," he threatened.

Nothing, her heart monitor didn't even blip with that.

Sasuke sighed as he rested on the side of her bed and sat in that chair staring at her face. How could she ever think he hated her? he could see how she could think that in the past, but now? Now…

Well, actually; when he thought about it, he could see how she thought he hated her now too. Which had him miserable as he stared at her face.

Seven days passed and there was no change in Sakura's health. She hadn't woken, hadn't roused once. He hadn't left either. Kakashi had brought him scrolls to study, books to read and a change of clothes. The dobe had sat with them and glared at him the entire time. and Sai visited with Ino twice a day.

However, he didn't leave.

It was day eight when Tsunade came running in because Sakura was crashing. He was shoved to the side and helplessly watched as she wheeled away for another round of surgery.

He sat outside the OR and not a soul dared to even try to remove him from where he was. Tsunade spoke to him after the surgery, said she was stable, but that her liver had ruptured causing her to nearly die. However, she was alive, and he could resume his vigil over her. when he asked about the antidote Tsunade just sighed and told him to sit with her.

It wasn't a good sign in his mind, but he returned to Sakura's side again.

She was pale, well, paler than before. He didn't like it, he decided to read some of the books Kakashi had left him to her, just to see if he could get her to blush again. And there was nothing.

She didn't wake or move.

Three more days went by like this, Tsunade walked in with the antidote then and injected it into Sakura's blood.

No one knew how long it would take for her to accept the antidote or for her body to heal. Sasuke never argued with Tsunade or the nurses about Sakura's health as he sat there with her.

It was at the fifteen day marker though when his life changed for forever.

She twitched.

Sasuke's head snapped up, his hand never released her as her fingers twitched for the first time in two weeks. He was watching her though as he wait.

There was a low moan of pain which escaped her lips as her face scrunched up in agony and she tried to pull her hand away from his grasp. Sasuke retaliated by holding on tighter until she looked over to him.

Green met black, and he couldn't look away from her.

He couldn't call for the nurses.

He couldn't call for Tsunade.

He could only stare at her as his fingers tightened on hers'. She never looked away from him either and for one long silent moment it felt like the world had stopped for them. Sasuke couldn't really describe it any other way than that.

For a moment, the world just stopped and ceased to exist as green and black stared at one another.

Her chapped lips parted, he just stared at her as they tried to say something and he decided to speak then.

"I don't hate you," was all he blurted out.

She just stared at him with tired, wide eyes. He decided to continue.

"I think I love you."

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 10**

Sasuke stared at her for a long while in silence, he couldn't look away fearing this was some flux and she was here for but a moment. That she wasn't real, she wasn't awake, she wasn't staring at him. But a part of him knew, a part of him was very well aware of the fact that she was indeed awake. He didn't look away though, he was searching her, praying for her to understand him, to understand what he was saying to her, to understand what he needed to say to her.

"I love you," he repeated and he saw her green eyes tear up as she stared at him.

"You're not real," she whispered.

"No, very real here," he countered for her.

"The real Sasuke doesn't love me," she murmured weakly.

"I'm here, Sakura," he nearly shouted it at her as he pulled himself to sit on her bed. His leg was killing him but he didn't care about that as he stared down at her. Hesitantly his fingers brushed her cheek, she gasped, he heard her heart monitor blip off beat for a second and he just stared at those green eyes.

"I'm here," he said it softly as he rested his brow on hers' then.

"Sasuke?" she questioned.

"Aa," he nodded.

"Why are you here? I'm dead," she whimpered.

"No, you're alive," he murmured and pressed his lips to her brow as he thanked whatever Kami had returned her to him. he had been terrified, so terrified that she wouldn't come back to him. That he had lost yet another special person and he hadn't been able to stop them from leaving him behind. It was becoming his worst nightmare honestly, and he was so relieved that she was still here.

"I'm alive?" she breathed.

"Aa," he felt the tears as he rested his brow to hers' and just savored the simple fact.

Haruno Sakura was alive.

"I'm alive," she repeated.

"Yes," he said firmly. Green eyes looked up to him sleepily and she yawned.

"I thought I died," she mumbled and he saw her falling asleep.

"No, I'll call Tsunade now," he murmured as he kissed her brow again. Thank Kami she was alive. his own tears wouldn't stop, they would quit, and he didn't care as he pressed the call button for the Fifth Hokage.

Sakura was alive, she had woken up, she was alive.

This thought alone kept swirling around in his head as he savored holding her hand and watching her as Tsunade checked her over. Sakura was very sleepy, but she was alive, and he didn't care if she slept long. Now that she had woken up there was hope in him that she'd wake again. He needed her alive.

He needed her here.

He needed her.

It was strangely very simple as he sat guard as she slept again. Tsunade was happy and he knew everyone would be relieved to hear she was alive again. Sasuke reached over and touched her pale cheek and relaxed against the bed in relief.

She was alive.

* * *

Sakura was getting irritated with the people hovering over her.

Alright, one person hovering, but still, she wanted a moment to try to decipher what had happened on her own. Without the Uchiha in the room screwing up her though process when he would stare at her randomly.

Sakura didn't really remember what had happened, she remembered snippets.

She had killed Sasori, she remembered that.

She remembered drowning in blackness and only wanting to see the sunrise one more time.

She remembered something about stars.

And she remembered drowning pain which dragged her under.

And she didn't remember anything else. Believe her, she was trying, desperately trying to remember everything she had said or done. But much of it was blank. She couldn't even tell you what had happened to Sasuke's leg because she was relatively certain she had drugged him before ditching him to track Sasori down. At least, that was what she remembered planning; she didn't actually remember this.

Tsunade had told her this wasn't uncommon not to remember, she had nearly died, and it wasn't likely that she'd ever regain the memories.

The only thing Sakura was completely confused by was the change in the Uchiha. He hadn't noticed her breathing before she had woken up and afterwards he wouldn't leave her alone. It was very confusing to her.

And weirder, Sasuke wouldn't let her leave his sight. She was only granted privacy when she had to pee, and she had insisted on getting up to go to the toilet which had meant her catheter was removed. Sasuke had actually carried her to the toilet the first few days, and she hadn't been happy about being that weak or him being the one taking care of her.

When she had brought it up with Tsunade, her mentor only shrugged and said he was a man now and he wasn't to be trifled with. Which only meant she had to put up with his surly, foul temper because it appeared that never changed.

"Sakura?" his voice pulled her from her sleepy thoughts as she looked to him.

"Hm?" she hummed, she was fighting back the antidote which made her very sleepy.

"Why did you think I hated you?" Sasuke asked her suddenly.

"Because…" she yawned then. "Weak, annoying, stupid, that's all you call me."

"No," he said sharply which had her looking over to him again. "You are no weak, I have not said that in a long time. You are annoying, but most people are. And you are the smartest person I know besides Nara."

"Sasuke, you've said and done things since coming back which say you don't like me, that's alright. I guess you like Karin more, and that's fine," she mumbled.

"No," he snapped which had her yawning. She'd try to take this conversation seriously when she was awake. She just wanted to sleep now, and the darkness took her with that thought.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 11**

Sakura decided that the world had gone topsy-turvy on her when she was discharged from the hospital and instead of Naruto it was Sasuke taking her home. However, the exhaustion from her extreme case of blood loss had her too tired to argue this point with anyone as Sasuke wheeled her to her apartment.

She had moved out of her parents' bakery two years ago when she had had learnt that training with Tsunade made her life not only unpredictable but inconvient for her parents. Sasuke took the keys from her hands when they reached the door.

"You don't have to…" she started.

"Sakura," he cut her off with a warning look and a hard tone of voice which she had come to learn meant she wasn't going to be having her way no matter how much she pleaded. A sigh escaped her as she leant back in her wheelchair and he unlocked her apartment. It felt like forever since she had been home.

"Thank you," she said when he set her up on her couch and handed her a book. When he sat down she stared dumbly at him.

"You can leave now," she said evenly.

"No."

"Sasuke, I'm not a child, I'm fine, and I'm certain that you have better things to do," she said firmly as she opened the book she had been reading before she had gotten stabbed by Sasori.

"Sakura, I am not leaving you now or ever get used to it," he snapped harshly.

"I don't want you around," she snapped back.

"Hn," he grunted and she narrowed her eyes on him then as she slammed her book shut with all the force she could muster in her weakened state as she scowled at him.

"I Do Not Want You Around! Especially since you hate me!" she shouted at him.

"Oh for the love of Kami! I DON'T HATE YOU!" he roared back but she didn't back down, despite her weakened state she wasn't going to let him hurt her again with deluding her into thinking he like her when she knew damn well he didn't!

"Yes you do!" she argued back.

"Haruno Sakura if you don't shut up about me hating you I will kiss you to prove you wrong!" he snapped back.

"As if," she snorted and his eyes bled red as he glared at her. For a second she felt a flicker of fear in her heart as she saw that look in his eyes; his predatory look which had girls quivering in the knees and enemies running for the hills.

"You want to bet?" he asked her darkly, he was slowly closing in on her, she pressed herself back in the couch because she didn't know what to make of that look in his eyes.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I know for a fact you hate…" she never got to finish that sentence when his mouth covered hers'. She gasped, he took advantage of that moment to deepen the kiss and she felt herself melt into him as her fingers curled on his chest.

* * *

Good Kami did this woman know how to drive him insane, she knew every damn button to push, knew every line to say, and knew every look to give which could make him feel like a complete and total asshole for being himself.

However, this woman tasted divine as his mouth moved over hers, his tongue traced her teeth and he drunk in that essence that was Haruno Sakura. This woman terrified him, she could make him want to die for her, to barter his soul so she could stay here, and he didn't even know why that was as he kissed her deeper, harder, and tried to take everything she had. A whimper escaped her and he pulled away, he noted that his hands were tangled in that thick, short pink hair of hers' and he rested his brow on hers'. There were things he could say, should say, but there was nothing he wanted to say because there were no words to convey what she meant to him.

"Sakura…" he breathed her name like it was a prayer and he looked at those wide green eyes. She looked confused, very confused, and with those bruises under her eyes from blood loss and her swollen lips he couldn't help but feel guilty about stealing that kiss again as he shut his eyes and savored the moment for a second longer.

"Why?" she whispered.

"Because, you wanted to be stars rather than here, you wanted to see that fucking sunrise, and you smiled. Damn it," he whispered and he opened his eyes to look her in the eye.

"I carried you all the way back here, I was covered in your blood, and every time you were conscious enough to talk you talked like you were going to die and I couldn't… I couldn't let you go. And you… you just gave up," he murmured and she blinked in shock.

"I don't like you hating me," she whispered and he sighed. How had they gotten so fucked up to get here as he traced her cheek. Her eyes were drooping a bit and he kissed her brow then as he shut his eyes and thanked Kami she was alive.

"I don't hate you," he assured her softly.

"Will you… will you stay with me?" she whispered.

"Aa," he nodded and he released her as she settled back gingerly. He sat at her feet, he didn't notice when she fell asleep on her couch, he only noticed that she was breathing and she was alive. They were going to have to fix this mess he had gotten them into and he felt that he was probably going to have to do a lot of stupid things to prove to her that he didn't hate her but he could live with that. What he couldn't live with was her dying on him or leaving him behind again. That was something he wasn't going to tolerate as he began devising his plan to fix this mess.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Another Gift for the Wonderful Kiyomi Inuzuka, I hope this meets your expectations!**

 **I Do Not Own Naruto**

 **Chapter 12**

Sasuke endured months of his own rehab, but mostly he waited for Sakura to regain all of her strength again. The poison in her system was nasty, and it was taking a bit to not only pull it out of her blood but to keep her blood clean of it. It appeared that Sasori's parting gift to this world was a bacterial poison which was nasty to get out of the system.

But that didn't matter to him as he helped Sakura out every day. He slept on her couch more often times than not, and he found himself watching her every move.

When she had started training again he had attended, she had tried to shoo him off but he was not going anywhere and she was going to have to get used to it. Sasuke was never again letting that woman out of his sights, ever again. That was final.

If Sakura thought for one moment she was going to be free of him then she was wrong. He had glared off Lee, he now glared at Naruto who still had a stupid crush on her and he had actually snarled at Gaara when Gaara had come near her.

Haruno Sakura was going to be his, even if she didn't know it yet. But he could live with her not knowing that because then he didn't have to elaborate his plans to winning her over to him. She wasn't going to make it easy for him but he could live with that. Sasuke just needed her alive and well to be content, and he was intending to be happy to have her in his life for the rest of his days.

Kami did that woman drive him nuts, and worse he seemed to like it. Which was about the only reason why he wasn't panicking at liking her.

Sasuke looked at the clock again and smirked in triumph at having finally talked her into a date with him. and he found himself waiting for her. but he didn't mind as he sat on the couch, which had been his bed since her discharge. He looked up at her bedroom door and looked at his book again as he continued waiting for her.

He had sweet talked their first date from her last night and he had planned it for tonight so she couldn't back out of the date. Her door slid open, he stood up and looked at her then. Though she was still unbelievably pale she was looking rather healthy as she stood there nervously looking around as her fingers toyed with the hem of her green dress.

It brought out her eyes, that's all he noticed as he softened at the sight of her alive, pretty, and healthy.

"Sakura," he said her name and those green eyes of her uncertainly looked up to him then.

"Are you certain you want to take me out? I mean… it's not too late for you to…" she fumbled and he smirked as he offered her a hand.

* * *

For months she had struggled with remaining functioning with Uchiha Sasuke living in her apartment on her couch. She had tried many times to shoo him away, drive him off with her true self, but he seemed undeterred. Which was strange in her mind, mostly because he had hated her so vehemently before she had been poisoned and now he wouldn't leave her alone. It was driving her insane and it was confusing her to no end.

The only reason she hadn't brought it up with Tsunade was because she didn't want the older woman's insight on this change in Sasuke. Mostly because Sakura feared hearing what she wanted to hear and then having Sasuke rip her heart out when all of this was over and the hoax was up on her.

Still, the girly part of her still fluttered when he was near her, the woman in her craved the electric thrill of his touch and the addict in her wanted his kisses all the time.

But the survivor in her always whispered that she wouldn't survive if Sasuke left her now, and it would crush her into the depths of the darkness that poison had dragged her to.

So, the fighter in her fought him back, but even she didn't have all the fight in the world when he had asked her out after their months of living with one another. It was shocking to her and she had been so baffled she had just blurted out yes without really thinking about what his alternative motive was. She had been giddy about getting ready for a date that she hadn't thought about what this could mean until just now when she was putting on her minimal makeup and she stopped.

What the hell was wrong with her!?

Sighing she decided it was the stupid part of her which had always wanted Sasuke's affections acting. Still, she had come this far, she wasn't backing down just because he wasn't particularly fond of her.

She pulled on her green dress, finished her primping, pulled on her sandals and then walked out of her room. She was still uncertain as her fingers fumbled with the bottom of her dress and she looked anywhere but at him in fear of falling even more in love with him than she already was.

"Sakura," his voice sliced through everything in her mind as she hesitantly looked up at him and bit her lip. If he left her after tonight he'd destroy her, but if he left her now, before the date… she'd survive, she could pick up the pieces again.

"Are you certain you want to take me out? I mean… it's not too late for you to…" she started and cursed herself for fumbling over her words but she was terrified. So very terrified that after all these months of him near her that he was going to shatter her heart again.

Instead she stared at his offered hand.

Hesitantly she reached for him and felt the electric thrill course through her when they touched.

He pulled her out of the apartment then.

* * *

 **And That is the Last Chapter Folks!**

 **Enjoy I'm Alive! =)**


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